Emergency Delivery (Love Emergency) (13 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Why did you let her talk you into this?

Hunter pulled his car to the curb of the third apartment building on Madison’s list, and he immediately counted five reasons she and Joy couldn’t live there. “No fucking way.” Dammit, he needed to clean up his language, or Joy’s first word would be the F-bomb.

A long-suffering sigh sounded from his passenger seat. “Don’t NFW me. This place looks nice. I want to see the unit.”

“You’d be safer living in a cardboard box in an alley.” He knew he sounded like a sullen, unreasonable prick, which made sense since that’s exactly how he felt. Yesterday he’d held her naked, sweaty, beautifully responsive body in his arms and delivered the kind of orgasm that had rendered them both useless for hours. Today she’d popped out of bed and announced she wanted to start looking at apartments. Like she couldn’t get away fast enough. Rather than spend the last day of his three-off alone, silently boycotting anything remotely connected with her eventual departure, he’d agreed to be her driver. The gesture gave the appearance of supporting her goal, but his inability to stop himself from finding fault with every single place on her list undermined his just-trying-to-help act.

“Okay, let’s hear it. What’s wrong with this one?”

He turned to her and took in her exasperated expression and folded arms.
This is no way to handle the situation
, his last remaining sane brain cell warned, but the rest of them ignored the warning. “The street level units are completely accessible to every ax murdering pervert who happens by, the balconies on the higher units are hazards—those railings can’t possibly comply with code—they put the building on the busiest corner of a busy street, and a twelve-year-old kid could squeeze through the slats in the perimeter fence, much less a tiny baby.”

Her brows lowered and her chin jutted. “It’s a safe neighborhood, and while I may not be a genius, I have managed to learn how to lock doors and windows. Meanwhile, Joy doesn’t even roll over by herself yet. I’ve got a good six months until I need to baby-proof a patio or balcony.” Apparently satisfied she’d addressed his objections, she opened her door and hopped out. “Joy and I are going to check out the unit. You can sit in the car if you’re too scared to join us.”

“Madison—”

She slammed the door.

Fuck.

He killed the engine, got out, and then waited on the sidewalk while she unhooked Joy from the car seat. When she joined him on the sidewalk, he automatically held out his hands for Joy so Madison could shrug into the baby sling. Joy snuggled in his arms, warm and a little groggy from riding around.

“Thanks. I’ll take her now.”

Bypassing her outstretched arms, he settled the baby in the sling. His knuckles brushed her breasts in the process, and his chest tingled with the phantom weight of them pressed against his skin.

Maybe she felt some tingles, too, because she aimed a sharp look at him and said, “Don’t try to distract me.”

He held his hands up and took a step back, but when she stepped past him, he came up behind her, slipped his hands into the back pockets of her baggy jeans, and rested his chin on her shoulder. “You know, if you want to live dangerously, I have a better way to scratch that itch.” He squeezed her ass and didn’t miss the hitch in her breath. “No security deposit necessary. In fact, it won’t cost you a dime.”

“Knox?”

The familiar female voice came from behind him. He held back a curse—barely—withdrew his hands from Madison’s pockets.
Control this scene, and get your ass out of it quickly
. Pasting a smile on his face, he turned to confront…

“Hey, Ash.”

Curious brown eyes slid over him and then shifted to Madison and Joy. “Hi. I thought it was you.”

“You thought right.”

Silence stretched for an awkward beat.

Control the scene. Control the scene. Open your fucking mouth and say something to move her along…

Ashley stared heavenward, as if praying for patience, and then extended a hand to Madison. “Hi, I’m Ashley Granger. I work with Hunter.”

In his mind’s eye, his rec letter circled a giant toilet bowl.

Madison took the offered hand. “Madison Foley. Nice to meet you. Hunter’s mentioned you.”

That unlocked his vocal cords. “We were on our way—”

Ashley laughed, cutting him off. “Yeah, I’ll bet he has.” Her attention settled on Joy, and if Hunter didn’t know better, he’d say her expression turned wistful. “Your baby is adorable. How old?”

Circling…circling…

Madison smiled and ran a hand over Joy’s back. “She was my New Year’s Eve surprise.”

“A very sweet one.” A wrinkle formed between her brows, and she tapped her chin with her index finger. “Madison Foley… Your name sounds so familiar.”

No. No. No.
Another second and Ashley would connect the dots. He wrapped a sweaty palm around Madison’s forearm and gave her a little tug toward the building. “We really have to get go—”

“Foley!” Ashley snapped her fingers and then pointed at Hunter. “The New Year’s Eve, side-of-the-freeway delivery you and Beau toned out on.”

He slid his arm around Madison’s neck and clamped his hand on her shoulder. “Yep. She’s got an apartment to see, though, so if you’ll excuse us…”

“I didn’t realize you two knew each other. That never made it to your report.”

His shift supervisor’s voice held all kinds of concern now, because there was no right response. He tightened his hold on Madison’s shoulder, but she didn’t get his silent message—or she chose to ignore it. She glared at him like he’d lost his mind, not to mention his manners, and then turned her attention back to Ashley.

“We didn’t. But when Hunter learned we were back in the hospital, he came to see us. Since then he’s been like a savior. I…well…it’s complicated, but I was in the midst of a personal crisis when Joy arrived, and my living situation was not ideal.” She sent him a grateful smile, oblivious to the fact that she was digging him a hole with every word. “He opened his home to us and made sure we had everything we needed. Insisted, actually. I don’t know how we would have managed without him.”

And
flush
. Goodbye letter.

Ashley stared at him. “Like a savior, huh?”

Heat crawled up his neck. “It’s no big deal. Anyone in my shoes would have helped.”

“Not true.” Ashley shook her head. “A lot of people would have done their job. No more. No less. But you always have to save the day.” She aimed a finger at him. “Your ridiculous ego
refuses
to accept normal limits.”

Beside him, Madison paled and stiffened. “His…ego?”

Fuck.
This was worse than any worst-case scenario he’d imagined. “She’s looking for her own place.”
Weak. Just…abort
. “Crap, check out the time.” He didn’t even bother glancing at his watch, just took Madison’s arm and tugged her toward the car. “We gotta go, so you don’t miss your thing.”

“My
what
?”

He shoved her into the passenger seat and popped Joy out of the sling. She immediately started to wail. Some ‘hero’ he was.

He latched Joy into her car seat and came around to the driver’s side. “See you later, Ash.” He climbed in, buckled up, and revved the engine.

Over the racket of his engine and the baby, he heard her say, “Good luck with your apartment hunt.”

As soon as he pulled away from the curb, he glanced at Madison. She sat rigid as a ramrod, with her arms folded tightly across her chest, staring unblinkingly through the windshield. “I thought
I
was helping
you
, for a change. Showing her how ‘emotionally mature’ you are, and what lengths you’ve gone to for us, so she’d write you the recommendation letter you need.”

Wait, what? “I don’t even want to know how you heard about that, but don’t worry about it. Ashley’s not your—”

“But I wasn’t helping at all,” she went on, practically talking to herself. She didn’t look at him, either. Just kept staring straight ahead, frowning as if beyond the windshield a fog slowly lifted and a view took shape. “She already knows the lengths you’ll go to, and that’s what’s troubling her. I get it now. Helping is your
thing
. You ride to the rescue. You fix what’s broken.”

Why did she sound so disappointed? Almost betrayed. The need to defend himself kicked in before he could temper it. “You know what? I’m sick of feeling like trying to be a good guy is a character flaw. I do what needs to be done. If Ashley wants to call it a hero complex, or an oversized ego, then…whatever. I’m not changing.”

“You’re not,” she said quietly, and shook her head. “You can’t stop yourself. It’s who you are.”

…

Madison inhaled the scent of her green tea, immediately thought of Hunter, and tried not to let her thoughts return to Ashley’s comments from yesterday. She’d already worn the topic threadbare in her mind. A part of her felt certain there was more between Hunter and her than a hero complex, but then his supervisor’s words…
Stop
.
You’re going there again
.

Now was definitely not the time for another gut-wrenching game of
Could You Ever Be Anything to Hunter Except a Rescue-in-Progress
?

One of her new coworkers, Rachel, occupied the other chair at the tiny bistro table, completing a stack of employment forms while Madison skimmed the latest version of the employee benefits handbook.
Nobody gets emotional over an employee handbook, no matter how great the benefits
.

The pretty blonde looked up and smiled. “Okay, I think I signed and initialed in all the right spots.” She handed the forms to Madison. “Can I trouble you to double-check?”

“No problem.” She pushed her stack toward Rachel. “Check mine?”

“You got it.”

Madison skimmed Rachel’s form, not deliberately looking at the content, but nonetheless noticing certain details. Rachel was twenty-five, transferring from The Daily Grind & Unwind near the university, and had one dependent—a three-year-old daughter named Bliss. She listed her mother as her emergency contact. Mom had a local address.

“You’re a transfer, too, just like me,” Rachel said, her eyes perusing the form. “And, oh wow. You have a new baby. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” She let her own curiosity show. “You have a little girl, too?”

“I do.” The other woman laughed a little and rolled her eyes. “God, I remember when my Bliss was a baby. Seems like a long time ago. Too funny…Joy and Bliss. I guess we know where our heads were at.” Rachel glanced at the form again, opened her mouth to say something, but then hesitated.

Uh-oh. Madison leaned in. “Did I make a mistake on the form?”

“No. Sorry.” She laughed again, a bit self-consciously this time. “I talked myself out of asking a nosy question.”

“It’s okay.” Madison leaned in and offered a smile. “I don’t have many secrets.”

“You’re a single mom?”

“I am.”

“Me, too,” Rachel said. “Toughest job you’ll ever love. If you ever need a hand, or just want to run something past someone who’s been there, feel free to reach out.”

“Thanks.” She handed Rachel’s forms back to her. “That’s kind of you.”

“My pleasure.” The blonde tapped the edge of the stack of papers on the table to straighten them. “I’m going to turn these in to our manager. Then I need to hustle my butt over to Old Navy because they’re having a BOGO on women’s polo shirts. I like to stock up on black work shirts when the price is right. I start here on Wednesday. When’s your first day?”

“Same.” She thought about the last round of work shirts she’d bought and how tight across the chest they’d been even before she’d started nursing. Wearing them now was not going to be pretty. “Come to think of it, I could use a few new shirts.”

Rachel smiled. “Awesome. There’s an Old Navy just a couple blocks down. Want to follow me there after we’re done here?”

“Sounds good.”

She didn’t know the area especially well, so she kept Rachel’s white Festiva in view as they made their way to the store. Inside, she bought two large black polos, got two for free, plus the priceless and all-too-rare experience of shopping with a woman her own age.

While they waited in line at the register, Rachel ooh-d over a pair of shoulder-sweeping crystal earrings, and they both stroked a pair of totally impractical electric blue suede high-heeled ankle boots. She missed bonding over silly stuff like dangly earrings and cute shoes. Hanging out with friends at the dinky mall one town over from Shallow Pond during high school seemed like an eternity ago.

On the way out of the store, she paused by a display of baby clothes and fingered the sleeve of a cute yellow sweater covered with colorful butterflies. “After I get a few paychecks in the bank, I need to come back and buy some clothes for Joy. She’s growing so fast.”

“Oh, my God, that’s adorable.” Rachel touched the sweater as well. “But, you know what? Don’t waste your money on new clothes she’s going to outgrow in a month. I have boxes of Bliss’s baby clothes stuffed in a closet at my mom’s place, not doing anyone any good. Let me go through them, and I’ll bring a couple bags to work. You can help yourself to anything you like.”

“That would be amazing. I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Are you kidding? My mom will thank
you
,” Rachel replied, leading the way out of the store. “She’s been after me to clear that stuff out for ages. Just give me a few days to make her dreams come true.”

Madison laughed and, following instinct, gave Rachel an appreciative hug before the other woman got into her car. A few seconds and a wave later, the Festiva pulled out of the parking lot. Madison turned and…her smile froze on her face. All the excitement bubbling in her chest turned to lead and dropped into her stomach.

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Cody.” He looked terrible. Same light brown hair but disheveled and overdue for a trim. The guileless green eyes had turned hard and hollow in his too-thin face. His once-charming little half smile appeared calculated.

“Wow. You had the baby. When?”